Verifying a player&#39;s real world location using image data of a landmark corresponding to a verification pathway

ABSTRACT

A method and system for verifying a client device&#39;s location in a parallel reality game hosted by a server. The client transmits its location to the server and receives verification instructions comprising a landmark and a verification pathway. The client prompts a player to capture image data of the landmark and, in response, receives a first set of image data of the landmark from an initial perspective. The client determines whether the first set of image data matches to the landmark before prompting the player to move along the verification pathway while capturing image data. The client receives a second set of image data of the landmark from a moving perspective. The client determines whether the second set of image data matches to an expected change in perspective of the landmark. Upon completion of the verification instructions, the client confirms to the server the client&#39;s location.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of co-pending U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 16/728,834, filed on Dec. 27, 2019, which is a continuation ofU.S. application Ser. No. 16/175,340, filed on Oct. 30, 2018, now U.S.Pat. No. 10,549,198, issued on Feb. 4, 2020, each of which isincorporated by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure relates generally to location-based gaming, andmore particularly, to a system and method for verifying a player's realworld location as part of a parallel reality game.

BACKGROUND

A parallel reality game providing a shared virtual world that parallelsat least a portion of the real world can host a variety of interactionsthat can attract a community of players. Providing a virtual world witha geography that parallels at least a portion of the real world allowsplayers to navigate the virtual world by navigating the real world.Linking virtual elements in the virtual environment with real worldobjects, locations, and actions in the real world can encourage playersto travel to and notice features in the real world that the playerswould normally ignore. Providing virtual elements in the same locationin the virtual world as their counterpart real world objects and/orlocations in the real world increases the feeling that the virtualelements are hidden parts of the real world.

A parallel reality game can include game features that encourage playersto interact in the virtual world, such as through social interactionswith other players in the virtual world and through various gameobjectives in the virtual world. Certain game features can be providedto more closely link the parallel virtual world with the real world. Aparallel reality game can also include game features that encourageplayers to interact simultaneously in the real world and the virtualworld, for example by coming together in a defined geographic area inthe real world at a particular time and date, and while together in thereal world interacting with each other as well in the virtual world.

Technology exists that enables individuals to cause a computing deviceto report its location as being different than its true location,commonly referred to as “spoofing” the device's location. Players whouse such technology in playing parallel reality games are similarlyreferred to as “spoofers.” These players can cause problems in thesegames because spoofing their device locations enables them to accessfeatures and events in the parallel virtual world that are intended tobe limited to a specific real world location without these playershaving to physically be present at that real world location. This maycause players who make the effort to go to the real world locations tofeel disheartened, and this may give the spoofers an unfair advantage inthe game over other players who play the game as intended. Spoofing mayalso reduce the desirability of the parallel reality game to advertisersand sponsors as spoofers need not visit any specific physical locationwhile playing the game. For example, there is little value to a coffeeshop in Vermont in appearing to a player in the game who is physicallylocated in California and spoofing their device's location to make itappear like they are located in Vermont.

SUMMARY

The above and other problems may be addressed by using image data of alandmark captured during player movement with their computing device toverify the player's real world location. On interacting with or comingin proximity to a location or object in the virtual world, the player'sclient device may verify that it is located at or near the correspondingreal world location using information available in the real world. Thisinformation may be specific to the player or shared across a group ofplayers (e.g., all players on a team, all players from a particulargeographic area, all players worldwide, etc.).

In one embodiment, a method and system for verifying a player's clientdevice location utilizes image data captured by the client device andprompting player movement with the client device along a verificationpathway. The verification process includes a server receiving the clientdevice's location and the server preparing verification instructions forthe player's client device. The verification instructions include alandmark in proximity to the real world location and a verificationpathway for the client device. Upon receiving the verificationinstructions by the client device, the player's client device promptsthe player to capture initial image data of the landmark (which may be apicture or a video of the landmark) specified by the verificationinstructions. The player's client device may verify that the image datamatches to the landmark. Then the client device continues with promptingthe player to move along the verification pathway with the client devicewhilst continually capturing new image data of the landmark. Theplayer's client device verifies once more that the newly captured imagedata matches to the landmark and that the newly captured image data hasa different perspective than the initial image data. In additionalembodiments, the client device receives movement data from one or moremovement sensors describing physical movement of the device along theverification pathway. The client device may determine whether themovement data matches to the verification pathway. Once the newlycaptured image data is verified, the player's client device may concludethat the device is at the real world location corresponding to theaccess point.

Other exemplary implementations of the present disclosure are directedto systems, apparatus, non-transitory computer-readable media, devices,and user interfaces for verifying a player's a player's real worldlocation based on activity in a location-based parallel reality game.

Aspects and advantages of various embodiments are described in thefollowing description. Additional aspects and advantages may be apparentto one of skill in the art based on the description or may becomeapparent through practice of the embodiments. The accompanying drawings,which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification,illustrate various embodiments and, together with the description, serveto explain the related principles.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Detailed discussion of embodiments directed to one of ordinary skill inthe art are set forth in the specification, which makes reference to theappended figures, in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a networked computing environment in whicha player's real world location may be verified based on activity withina parallel reality game, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 2 depicts a representation of a virtual world having a geographythat parallels the real world, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 3 depicts an exemplary game interface of a parallel reality game,according to one embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a server-client interaction diagram of a method for linkingreal world activity with a parallel reality game, according to oneembodiment.

FIG. 5 is an illustration of a verification process for verifying aplayer's client device real world location, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a server-client interaction diagram of a method for verifyingthe player's client device real world location, according to oneembodiment.

FIG. 7 is an illustration of a game interface while in the method ofFIG. 6, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 8 is an example architecture of a computing device, according toone embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Overview

A game server can host a parallel reality game having a player gamingarea that includes a virtual world with a geography that parallels atleast a portion of the real world geography. Players can navigate arange of coordinates defining a virtual space in the virtual world bynavigating a range of geographic coordinates in the real world. Inparticular, the positions of players can be monitored or tracked using,for instance, a positioning system (e.g., a GPS system) associated witha player's client device which may be a mobile computing device. Playerposition information can be provided to the game server hosting theparallel reality game over a network and can be used by the game toupdate player locations in the virtual world. As a result, as the playercontinuously moves about in a range of coordinates in the real worldwith their client device, the game server may update such that theplayer also continuously moves about in a range of coordinates in theparallel virtual world.

The virtual world can include one or more virtual elements that arelinked with real world points of interest. For instance, the virtualworld can include various virtual elements associated with points ofinterest such as landmarks, museums, works of art, libraries, or otherareas of interest in the real world. The virtual elements linked withreal world point of interest can provide the illusion that the virtualworld is a hidden dimension of the real world that a player can interactwith by playing the parallel reality game. For instance, as playersnavigate geographic coordinates in the real world, the players candiscover and interact with virtual elements provided in the parallelvirtual world. Various game objectives can encourage players to interactwith these virtual elements as part of the parallel reality game. Insome embodiments, the game server may orchestrate virtual events in theparallel reality game around real world points of interest.

To improve the link between the real world and the parallel virtualworld, certain game features can be linked with real world activity,such as real world commercial activity or real world data collectionactivity, to enhance the impact that actions in the virtual world wouldhave based on actions in the real world and vice versa, thereby,improving the user experience in the parallel reality game. Gamefeatures linked with commercial activity in the real world can beincluded in the parallel reality game such that player actions whileplaying the parallel reality game can encourage or incentivizecommercial activity in the real world. Sponsors, advertisers,businesses, and other entities can request certain game features to beincluded in the parallel reality game to increase the exposure of theirbusiness or other entities to players of the parallel reality game.

The game server hosting the parallel reality game can modify, update, oradd to game data stored in a game database associated with the parallelreality game to include certain game features in the parallel realitygame. Access-controlled game features can be included that are availableonly to players who meet certain criteria (e.g., ticket holders for aspecial event at specified location and time, players who haveparticipated in a particular promotional offer, players who completedspecified in-game tasks, or any other definable group). For instance,the game features can be linked to things in the real world (e.g., realworld live events, real world points of interest) such that playeractions associated with the game features in the virtual world can leadto or encourage commercial activity.

As described previously, it is desirable to ensure that spoofers do notgain access to access-controlled game features or otherwise gain unfairadvantages in the game through spoofing techniques. Consequently, atvarious times (e.g., when a player requests access to access controlledfeatures, periodically during gameplay, when the player is withinproximity of certain location, etc.) additional steps may be taken toverify that the player with their client device is in fact at thecorresponding real world location. In one embodiment, the game serverand the client device utilize image data of a landmark while a playermoves along a verification pathway on top of location informationprovided by a positioning system on the client device to aid inverifying the player's real world location. This verification isdifficult for spoofers to fool, reducing the relative return oninvestment in attempting to fool the system, which in turn may reducethe number of spoofers. Thus, the game experience for other playersplaying the game fairly may be improved.

Exemplary Location-Based Parallel Reality Gaming System

A parallel reality game is a location-based game having a virtual worldgeography that parallels at least a portion of the real world geographysuch that player movement and actions in the real world affect actionsin the virtual world and vice versa. Those of ordinary skill in the art,using the disclosures provided herein, will understand that the subjectmatter described is applicable in other situations where verifying thelocation of a user is desirable. In addition, the inherent flexibilityof computer-based systems allows for a great variety of possibleconfigurations, combinations, and divisions of tasks and functionalitybetween and among the components of the system. For instance, thesystems and methods according to aspects of the present disclosure canbe implemented using a single computing device or across multiplecomputing devices (e.g., connected in a computer network).

FIG. 1 illustrates one embodiment of a networked computing environment100 in which a player's real world location may be verified based onactivity within a parallel reality game. The networked computingenvironment 100 provides for the interaction of players in a virtualworld having a geography that parallels the real world. In particular, ageographic area in the real world can be linked or mapped directly to acorresponding area in the virtual world. A player can move about in thevirtual world by moving to various geographic locations in the realworld. For instance, a player's position in the real world can betracked and used to update the player's position in the virtual world.Typically, the player's position in the real world is determined byfinding the location of a client device 120 through which the player isinteracting with the virtual world and assuming the player is at thesame (or approximately the same) location. For example, in variousembodiments, the player may interact with a virtual element if theplayer's location in the real world is within a threshold distance(e.g., ten meters, twenty meters, etc.) of the real world location thatcorresponds to the virtual location of the virtual element in thevirtual world. For convenience, various embodiments are described withreference to “the player's location” but one of skill in the art willappreciate that such references may refer to the location of theplayer's client device 120.

Reference is now made to FIG. 2 which depicts a conceptual diagram of avirtual world 210 that parallels the real world 200 that can act as thegame board for players of a parallel reality game, according to oneembodiment. As illustrated, the virtual world 210 can include ageography that parallels the geography of the real world 200. Inparticular, a range of coordinates defining a geographic area or spacein the real world 200 is mapped to a corresponding range of coordinatesdefining a virtual space in the virtual world 210. The range ofcoordinates in the real world 200 can be associated with a town,neighborhood, city, campus, locale, a country, continent, the entireglobe, or other geographic area. Each geographic coordinate in the rangeof geographic coordinates is mapped to a corresponding coordinate in avirtual space in the virtual world.

A player's position in the virtual world 210 corresponds to the player'sposition in the real world 200. For instance, the player A located atposition 212 in the real world 200 has a corresponding position 222 inthe virtual world 210. Similarly, the player B located at position 214in the real world has a corresponding position 224 in the virtual world.As the players move about in a range of geographic coordinates in thereal world, the players also move about in the range of coordinatesdefining the virtual space in the virtual world 210. In particular, apositioning system (e.g., a GPS system) associated with a mobilecomputing device carried by the player can be used to track a player'sposition as the player navigates the range of geographic coordinates inthe real world. Data associated with the player's position in the realworld 200 is used to update the player's position in the correspondingrange of coordinates defining the virtual space in the virtual world210. In this manner, players can navigate a continuous track in therange of coordinates defining the virtual space in the virtual world 210by simply traveling among the corresponding range of geographiccoordinates in the real world 200 without having to check in orperiodically update location information at specific discrete locationsin the real world 200.

The location-based game can include a plurality of game objectivesrequiring players to travel to and/or interact with various virtualelements and/or virtual objects scattered at various virtual locationsin the virtual world. A player can travel to these virtual locations bytraveling to the corresponding location of the virtual elements orobjects in the real world. For instance, a positioning system cancontinuously track the position of the player such that as the playercontinuously navigates the real world, the player also continuouslynavigates the parallel virtual world. The player can then interact withvarious virtual elements and/or objects at the specific location toachieve or perform one or more game objectives.

For example, a game objective can require players to capture or claimownership of virtual elements 230 located at various virtual locationsin the virtual world 210. These virtual elements 230 can be linked tolandmarks, geographic locations, or objects 240 in the real world 200.The real world landmarks or objects 240 can be works of art, monuments,buildings, businesses, libraries, museums, or other suitable real worldlandmarks or objects. To capture these virtual elements 230, a playermust travel to the landmark or geographic location 240 linked to thevirtual elements 230 in the real world and must perform any necessaryinteractions with the virtual elements 230 in the virtual world 210. Forexample, player A of FIG. 2 may have to travel to a landmark 240 in thereal world 200 in order to interact with or capture a virtual element230 linked with that particular landmark 240. The interaction with thevirtual element 230 can require action in the real world, such as takinga photograph and/or verifying, obtaining, or capturing other informationabout the landmark or object 240 associated with the virtual element230. In some embodiments, the interaction with the virtual element 230may further prompt verification of the player's location in the realworld 200 matching the player's location in the virtual world 210.

Game objectives may require that players use one or more virtual itemsthat are collected by the players in the location-based game. Forinstance, the players may travel the virtual world 210 seeking virtualitems (e.g. weapons, creatures, power ups, or other items) that can beuseful for completing game objectives. These virtual items can be foundor collected by traveling to different locations in the real world 200or by completing various actions in either the virtual world 210 or thereal world 200. In the example shown in FIG. 2, a player uses virtualitems 232 to capture one or more virtual elements 230. In particular, aplayer can deploy virtual items 232 at locations in the virtual world210 proximate or within the virtual elements 230. Deploying one or morevirtual items 232 in this manner can result in the capture of thevirtual element 230 for the particular player or for the team/faction ofthe particular player.

In one particular implementation, a player may have to gather virtualenergy as part of the parallel reality game. As depicted in FIG. 2,virtual energy 250 can be scattered at different locations in thevirtual world 210. A player can collect the virtual energy 250 bytraveling to the corresponding location of the virtual energy 250 in theactual world 200. The virtual energy 250 can be used to power virtualitems and/or to perform various game objectives in the game. A playerthat loses all virtual energy 250 can be disconnected from the game.

According to aspects of the present disclosure, the parallel realitygame can be a massive multi-player location-based game where everyparticipant in the game shares the same virtual world. The players canbe divided into separate teams or factions and can work together toachieve one or more game objectives, such as to capture or claimownership of a virtual element. In this manner, the parallel realitygame can intrinsically be a social game that encourages cooperationamong players within the game. Players from opposing teams can workagainst each other (or sometime collaborate to achieve mutualobjectives) during the parallel reality game. A player may use virtualitems to attack or impede progress of players on opposing teams. In somecases, players are encouraged to congregate at real world locations forcooperative or interactive events in the parallel reality game. In thesecases, the game server seeks to ensure players are indeed physicallypresent and not spoofing.

The parallel reality game can have various features to enhance andencourage game play within the parallel reality game. For instance,players can accumulate a virtual currency or another virtual reward thatcan be used throughout the game (e.g., to purchase in-game items).Players can advance through various levels as the players complete oneor more game objectives and gain experience within the game. In someembodiments, players can communicate with one another through one ormore communication interfaces provided in the game. Players can alsoobtain enhanced “powers” or virtual items that can be used to completegame objectives within the game. Those of ordinary skill in the art,using the disclosures provided herein, should understand that variousother game features can be included with the parallel reality gamewithout deviating from the scope of the present disclosure.

Referring back FIG. 1, the networked computing environment 100 uses aclient-server architecture, where a game server 110 communicates withone or more clients 120 over a network 130 to provide a parallel realitygame to players at the clients 120. The networked computing environment100 also may include other external systems such as sponsor/advertisersystems or business systems. Although only one client 120 is illustratedin FIG. 1, any number of clients 120 or other external systems may beconnected to the game server 110 over the network 130. Furthermore, thenetworked computing environment 100 may contain different or additionalelements and functionality may be distributed between the clients 120and the server 110 in a different manner than described below.

The game server 110 can be any computing device and can include one ormore processors and one or more computer-readable media. Thecomputer-readable media can store instructions which cause the processorto perform operations. The game server 110 can include or can be incommunication with a game database 115. The game database 115 storesgame data used in the parallel reality game to be served or provided tothe client(s) 120 over the network 130.

The game data stored in the game database 115 can include: (1) dataassociated with the virtual world in the parallel reality game (e.g.imagery data used to render the virtual world on a display device,geographic coordinates of locations in the virtual world, etc.); (2)data associated with players of the parallel reality game (e.g. playerprofiles including but not limited to player information, playerexperience level, player currency, current player positions in thevirtual world/real world, player energy level, player preferences, teaminformation, faction information, etc.); (3) data associated with gameobjectives (e.g. data associated with current game objectives, status ofgame objectives, past game objectives, future game objectives, desiredgame objectives, etc.); (4) data associated virtual elements in thevirtual world (e.g. positions of virtual elements, types of virtualelements, game objectives associated with virtual elements;corresponding actual world position information for virtual elements;behavior of virtual elements, relevance of virtual elements etc.); (5)data associated with real world objects, landmarks, positions linked tovirtual world elements (e.g. location of real world objects/landmarks,description of real world objects/landmarks, relevance of virtualelements linked to real world objects, etc.); (6) Game status (e.g.current number of players, current status of game objectives, playerleaderboard, etc.); (7) data associated with player actions/input (e.g.current player positions, past player positions, player moves, playerinput, player queries, player communications, etc.); and (8) any otherdata used, related to, or obtained during implementation of the parallelreality game. The game data stored in the game database 115 can bepopulated either offline or in real time by system administrators and/orby data received from users/players of the system 100, such as from oneor more clients 120 over the network 130.

The game server 110 can be configured to receive requests for game datafrom one or more clients 120 (for instance via remote procedure calls(RPCs)) and to respond to those requests via the network 130. Forinstance, the game server 110 can encode game data in one or more datafiles and provide the data files to the client 120. In addition, thegame server 110 can be configured to receive game data (e.g. playerpositions, player actions, player input, etc.) from one or more clients120 via the network 130. For instance, the client 120 can be configuredto periodically send player input and other updates to the game server110, which the game server 110 uses to update game data in the gamedatabase 115 to reflect any and all changed conditions for the game.

In the embodiment shown, the server 110 includes a universal gamingmodule 112, a commercial game feature module 114, a data collectionmodule 116, and an event module 118. The game server 110 interacts witha game database 115 that may be part of the game server 110 or accessedremotely (e.g., the game database 115 may be a distributed databaseaccessed via the network 130). In other embodiments, the game server 110contains different and/or additional elements. In addition, thefunctions may be distributed among the elements in a different mannerthan described. For instance, the game database 115 can be integratedinto the game server 110.

The universal game module 112 hosts the parallel reality game for allplayers and acts as the authoritative source for the current status ofthe parallel reality game for all players. The universal game module 112receives game data from clients 120 (e.g. player input, player position,player actions, landmark information, etc.) and incorporates the gamedata received into the overall parallel reality game for all players ofthe parallel reality game. The universal game module 112 can also managethe delivery of game data to the clients 120 over the network 130. Theuniversal game module 112 may also govern security aspects of clients120 including but not limited to securing connections between theclients 120 and the game server 110, establishing connections betweenvarious clients 120, and verifying the location of the various clients120.

The commercial game feature module 114, in embodiments where one isincluded, can be separate from or a part of the universal game module112. The commercial game feature module 114 can manage the inclusion ofvarious game features within the parallel reality game that are linkedwith a commercial activity in the real world. For instance, thecommercial game feature module 114 can receive requests from externalsystems such as sponsors/advertisers, businesses, or other entities overthe network 130 (via a network interface) to include game featureslinked with commercial activity in the parallel reality game. Thecommercial game feature module 114 can then arrange for the inclusion ofthese game features in the parallel reality game.

The game server 110 can further include a data collection module 116.The data collection module 116, in embodiments where one is included,can be separate from or a part of the universal game module 112. Thedata collection module 116 can manage the inclusion of various gamefeatures within the parallel reality game that are linked with a datacollection activity in the real world. For instance, the data collectionmodule 116 can modify game data stored in the game database 115 toinclude game features linked with data collection activity in theparallel reality game. The data collection module 116 can also analyzeand data collected by players pursuant to the data collection activityand provide the data for access by various platforms. Variousembodiments of the data collection module 116 are described in greaterdetail below, with reference to FIG. 6.

The event module 118 manages player access to events in the parallelreality game. Although the term “event” is used for convenience, itshould be appreciated that this term need not refer to a specific eventat a specific location or time. Rather, it may refer to any provision ofaccess-controlled game content where one or more access criteria areused to determine whether players may access that content. Such contentmay be part of a larger parallel reality game that includes game contentwith less or no access control or may be a stand-alone, accesscontrolled parallel reality game.

A client 120 can be any portable computing device that can be used by aplayer to interface with the gaming system 100. For instance, a client120 can be a wireless device, a personal digital assistant (PDA),portable gaming device, cellular phone, smart phone, tablet, navigationsystem, handheld GPS system, wearable computing device, a display havingone or more processors, or other such device. In short, a client 120 canbe any computer device or system that can enable a player to interactwith the game system 100.

The client 120 can include one or more processors and one or morecomputer-readable media. The computer-readable media can storeinstructions which cause the processor to perform operations. The client120 can include various input/output devices for providing and receivinginformation from a player, such as a display screen, touch screen, touchpad, data entry keys, speakers, cameras, and/or a microphone suitablefor voice recognition. The client 120 may also include other varioussensors for recording data from the client 120 including but not limitedto movement sensors, accelerometers, gyroscopes, other inertialmeasurement units (IMUs), barometers, positioning systems, thermometers,light sensors, etc. The client 120 can further include a networkinterface for providing communications over the network 130. A networkinterface can include any suitable components for interfacing with onemore networks, including for example, transmitters, receivers, ports,controllers, antennas, or other suitable components.

Because the networked computing environment 100 provides alocation-based game, the client 120 is preferably a portable computingdevice that can be easily carried or otherwise transported with aplayer, such as a smartphone or tablet. In the embodiment shown in FIG.1, each client 120 includes software components such as a gaming module122 and a positioning module 124 with various physical components suchas a camera 126 and a plurality of movement sensors 128. In otherembodiments, the clients 120 may include different or additionalelements such as a display (as a component of the client 120 or externalto the client 120), various input devices (e.g., a touchscreen, a mouse,a stylus,

The gaming module 122 provides a player with an interface to participatein the parallel reality game. The game server 110 transmits game dataover the network 130 to the client 120 for use by the gaming module 122at the client 120 to provide local versions of the game to players atlocations remote from the game server 110. The server 110 can include anetwork interface for providing communications over the network 130. Anetwork interface can include any suitable components for interfacingwith one more networks, including for example, transmitters, receivers,ports, controllers, antennas, or other suitable components.

The gaming module 122 executed by the client 120 provides an interfacebetween a player and the parallel reality game. The gaming module 122can present a user interface on a display device associated with theclient 120 that displays a virtual world (e.g. renders imagery of thevirtual world) associated with the game and allows a user to interact inthe virtual world to perform various game objectives. The gaming module122 can also control various other outputs to allow a player to interactwith the game without requiring the player to view a display screen. Forinstance, the gaming module 122 can control various audio, vibratory, orother notifications that allow the player to play the game withoutlooking at the display screen. The gaming module 122 can access gamedata received from the game server 110 to provide an accuraterepresentation of the game to the user. The gaming module 122 canreceive and process player input and provide updates to the game server110 over the network 130.

The positioning module 124 can be any device or circuitry for monitoringthe position of the client 120. For example, the positioning module 124can determine actual or relative position by using a satellitenavigation positioning system (e.g. a GPS system, a Galileo positioningsystem, the Global Navigation satellite system (GLONASS), the BeiDouSatellite Navigation and Positioning system), an inertial navigationsystem, a dead reckoning system, based on IP address, by usingtriangulation and/or proximity to cellular towers or Wi-Fi hotspots,and/or other suitable techniques for determining position. Thepositioning module 124 may further include various other sensors thatmay aid in accurately positioning the client 120 location.

As the player moves around with the client 120 in the real world, thepositioning module 124 tracks the position of the player and providesthe player position information to the gaming module 122. The gamingmodule 122 updates the player position in the virtual world associatedwith the game based on the actual position of the player in the realworld. Thus, a player can interact with the virtual world simply bycarrying or transporting the client 120 in the real world. Inparticular, the location of the player in the virtual world cancorrespond to the location of the player in the real world. The gamingmodule 122 can provide player position information to the game server110 over the network 130 such that the universal gaming module 112 keepstrack of all player positions throughout the game. In response, the gameserver 110 may enact various techniques to verify the client 120location to prevent cheaters from spoofing the client 120 location. Itshould be understood that location information associated with a playeris utilized only if permission is granted after the player has beennotified that location information of the player is to be accessed andhow the location information is to be utilized in the context of thegame (e.g. to update player position in the virtual world). In addition,any location information associated with players will be stored andmaintained in a manner to protect player privacy.

The network 130 can be any type of communications network, such as alocal area network (e.g. intranet), wide area network (e.g. Internet),or some combination thereof. The network can also include a directconnection between a client 120 and the game server 110. In general,communication between the game server 110 and a client 120 can becarried via a network interface using any type of wired and/or wirelessconnection, using a variety of communication protocols (e.g. TCP/IP,HTTP, SMTP, FTP), encodings or formats (e.g. HTML, XML, JSON), and/orprotection schemes (e.g. VPN, secure HTTP, SSL).

The technology discussed herein makes reference to servers, databases,software applications, and other computer-based systems, as well asactions taken and information sent to and from such systems. One ofordinary skill in the art will recognize that the inherent flexibilityof computer-based systems allows for a great variety of possibleconfigurations, combinations, and divisions of tasks and functionalitybetween and among components. For instance, server processes discussedherein may be implemented using a single server or multiple serversworking in combination. Databases and applications may be implemented ona single system or distributed across multiple systems. Distributedcomponents may operate sequentially or in parallel.

In addition, in situations in which the systems and methods discussedherein access and analyze personal information about users, or make useof personal information, such as location information, the users may beprovided with an opportunity to control whether programs or featurescollect the information and control whether and/or how to receivecontent from the system or other application. No such information ordata is collected or used until the user has been provided meaningfulnotice of what information is to be collected and how the information isused. The information is not collected or used unless the user providesconsent, which can be revoked or modified by the user at any time. Thus,the user can have control over how information is collected about theuser and used by the application or system. In addition, certaininformation or data can be treated in one or more ways before it isstored or used, so that personally identifiable information is removed.For example, a user's identity may be treated so that no personallyidentifiable information can be determined for the user.

Example Computing System

FIG. 8 is an example architecture of a computing device, according to anembodiment. Although FIG. 8 depicts a high-level block diagramillustrating physical components of a computer used as part or all ofone or more entities described herein, in accordance with an embodiment,a computer may have additional, less, or variations of the componentsprovided in FIG. 8. Although FIG. 8 depicts a computer 800, the figureis intended as functional description of the various features which maybe present in computer systems than as a structural schematic of theimplementations described herein. In practice, and as recognized bythose of ordinary skill in the art, items shown separately could becombined and some items could be separated.

Illustrated in FIG. 8 are at least one processor 802 coupled to achipset 804. Also coupled to the chipset 804 are a memory 806, a storagedevice 808, a keyboard 810, a graphics adapter 812, a pointing device814, and a network adapter 816. A display 818 is coupled to the graphicsadapter 812. In one embodiment, the functionality of the chipset 804 isprovided by a memory controller hub 820 and an I/O hub 822. In anotherembodiment, the memory 806 is coupled directly to the processor 802instead of the chipset 804. In some embodiments, the computer 800includes one or more communication buses for interconnecting thesecomponents. The one or more communication buses optionally includecircuitry (sometimes called a chipset) that interconnects and controlscommunications between system components.

The storage device 808 is any non-transitory computer-readable storagemedium, such as a hard drive, compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM),DVD, or a solid-state memory device or other optical storage, magneticcassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magneticstorage devices, magnetic disk storage devices, optical disk storagedevices, flash memory devices, or other non-volatile solid state storagedevices. Such a storage device 808 can also be referred to as persistentmemory. The pointing device 814 may be a mouse, track ball, or othertype of pointing device, and is used in combination with the keyboard810 to input data into the computer 800. The graphics adapter 812displays images and other information on the display 818. The networkadapter 816 couples the computer 800 to a local or wide area network.

The memory 806 holds instructions and data used by the processor 802.The memory 806 can be non-persistent memory, examples of which includehigh-speed random access memory, such as DRAM, SRAM, DDR RAM, ROM,EEPROM, flash memory.

As is known in the art, a computer 800 can have different and/or othercomponents than those shown in FIG. 13. In addition, the computer 800can lack certain illustrated components. In one embodiment, a computer800 acting as a server may lack a keyboard 810, pointing device 814,graphics adapter 812, and/or display 818. Moreover, the storage device808 can be local and/or remote from the computer 800 (such as embodiedwithin a storage area network (SAN)).

As is known in the art, the computer 800 is adapted to execute computerprogram modules for providing functionality described herein. As usedherein, the term “module” refers to computer program logic utilized toprovide the specified functionality. Thus, a module can be implementedin hardware, firmware, and/or software. In one embodiment, programmodules are stored on the storage device 808, loaded into the memory806, and executed by the processor 302.

Exemplary Game Interface

FIG. 3 depicts one embodiment of a game interface 300 that can bepresented on a display of a client 120 as part of the interface betweena player and the virtual world 210. The game interface 300 includes adisplay window 310 that can be used to display the virtual world 210 andvarious other aspects of the game, such as player position 222 and thelocations of virtual elements 230, virtual items 232, and virtual energy250 in the virtual world 210. The user interface 300 can also displayother information, such as game data information, game communications,player information, client location verification instructions and otherinformation associated with the game. For example, the user interfacecan display player information 315, such as player name, experiencelevel and other information. The user interface 300 can include a menu320 for accessing various game settings and other information associatedwith the game. The user interface 300 can also include a communicationsinterface 330 that enables communications between the game system andthe player and between one or more players of the parallel reality game.

According to aspects of the present disclosure, a player can interactwith the parallel reality game by simply carrying a client device 120around in the real world. For instance, a player can play the game bysimply accessing an application associated with the parallel realitygame on a smartphone and moving about in the real world with thesmartphone. In this regard, it is not necessary for the player tocontinuously view a visual representation of the virtual world on adisplay screen in order to play the location based game. As a result,the user interface 300 can include a plurality of non-visual elementsthat allow a user to interact with the game. For instance, the gameinterface can provide audible notifications to the player when theplayer is approaching a virtual element or object in the game or when animportant event happens in the parallel reality game. A player cancontrol these audible notifications with audio control 340. Differenttypes of audible notifications can be provided to the user depending onthe type of virtual element or event. The audible notification canincrease or decrease in frequency or volume depending on a player'sproximity to a virtual element or object. Other non-visual notificationsand signals can be provided to the user, such as a vibratorynotification or other suitable notifications or signals.

Those of ordinary skill in the art, using the disclosures providedherein, will appreciate that numerous game interface configurations andunderlying functionalities will be apparent in light of this disclosure.The present disclosure is not intended to be limited to any oneparticular configuration.

Operation of Parallel Reality Game Client-Server Flow Diagram

FIG. 4 depicts a client-server flow diagram of a method 400 for linkingreal world activity with a parallel reality game, according to oneembodiment. The method 400 can be implemented using any suitablecomputing system, such as the client-server arrangement of the system100 of FIG. 1. In addition, although FIG. 4 depicts steps performed in aparticular order for purposes of illustration and discussion, themethods discussed herein are not limited to any particular order orarrangement. One skilled in the art, using the disclosures providedherein, will appreciate that various steps of the methods disclosedherein can be omitted, rearranged, combined, and/or adapted in variousways without deviating from the scope of the present disclosure. Themethods may also include different or additional steps.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the method 400 begins at 402 with agame server 110 hosting the parallel reality game for a plurality ofclient devices 120. Players can access the parallel reality game bycommunicating with the game server 110 over the network 130 via one ormore client devices 120. In this manner, the game server 110 may act asan authoritative source of events for the parallel reality game.

At 404, the server can modify game data associated with the parallelreality game to include a game feature. For instance, the game server110 can modify, update, or add game data to the game database 115 suchthat a game feature is included in the parallel reality game. Some gamefeatures may be linked with a real world activity. These game featurescan be any game feature designed to incentivize or encourage activity byplayers in the real world, including activities in the real world notdirectly related to the overall game objective for the parallel realitygame. In particular embodiments, the game feature linked with a realworld activity can be a game feature linked with a commercial activityin the real world.

At 406, the game server 110 serves the parallel reality game, includingthe game features, to one or more client devices 120 over the network130. At 408, a client device 120 receives the game data from the gameserver 110 including data associated with the game feature. The clientdevice 120 then presents the parallel reality game, including the gamefeatures to a player at 410. For instance, a client device 120 candisplay a visual representation of the virtual world. The virtual worldcan include the game feature, such as a virtual element located at aspecific location in the virtual world to encourage or incentivizeplayer activity in the real world.

At 412, the client device 120 includes receiving data associated withplayer interaction with the game feature. For instance, a client device120 can receive data as a result of a player action directed toward thegame feature in the parallel reality game. The data associated with aplayer interaction can include data associated with a player navigatingto a location of a particular virtual element and interacting with thevirtual element. As another example, the data associated with a playerinteraction can include data associated with a player taking actions tocomplete a game objective or task. As another example, the dataassociated with a player interaction can include data associated with aplayer using a power up or other enhanced power provided to a player aspart of the game feature linked with the real world activity. At 414,the client device provides the data associated with player interactionwith the game feature to the server.

The data associated with the player interaction with the game featurecan be received at the game server 110 at 416. For instance, the gameserver 110 can receive the data associated with player interaction withthe game feature from a client device 120 over the network 130. The gameserver 110 can then modify one or more game elements in the parallelreality game based on the data associated with the player interaction at418. For instance, the game server 110 can update game data stored inthe game database 115 associated with a player (such as a player profilestored in the game database 115) to record the player's interaction withthe game feature linked with the real world activity. In addition, theserver can update game data to provide a reward, such as a virtualreward suitable for use in the parallel reality game, for interactingwith the game feature. The virtual reward can include a virtual item,virtual energy, virtual currency, virtual power-up, enhanced power,experience points, or any other suitable reward.

Player Client Device Location Verification

FIG. 5 is a top plan view illustrating a process of verifying a player'sclient device 120 location, in accordance with an embodiment. Theprocess can be implemented using any suitable computing device(s) orcombination of suitable computing devices, such as the client device 120and the game server 110 of FIG. 1. In this illustrative embodiment, theclient device 120 is reporting to the game server 110 a supposedlocation of the client device in the real world (e.g., from thepositioning module 122 to the game server 110 via the network 130). Thegame server 110 initiates the process of verifying the client device's120 is actually located at the supposed location. One skilled in theart, using the principles disclosed herein, will appreciate that varioussteps of the methods disclosed herein can be omitted, rearranged,combined, and/or adapted in various ways without deviating from thescope of the present disclosure.

The client device 120 utilizes the position module 124 to determine thesupposed location of the client device 120. The client device 120 may bereporting to the game server 110 that the client device is at thesupposed location and may be attempting to retrieve content (in someexamples, access controlled content) specific to the reported location.The game server 110 aims to ensure that the client device 120 is indeedat the reported location.

The game server 110 generates a set of verification instructions to theclient device 120 for verifying the client device's 120 location. Forvarious locations in the real world that correspond to locations in thevirtual world, the game server 110 may store a unique real world objector landmark for use in verifying locations of client devices of players.The game server 110 may alternatively assign a unique landmark invicinity to a real world commercial activity which the game server 110may use to verify the locations of client devices to ensure provision ofgame content accessible only by client devices present at the real worldlocations where the real world commercial activity resides. Forinstance, if a coffee shop is a sponsor of the parallel reality game, anearby statue may be used as a unique landmark for verifying clientdevices are in the vicinity of the coffee shop before providing gamecontent specific to the coffee shop. Or in another instance, the gameserver 110 may assign a unique landmark to a real world location where avirtual game event is being hosted. The game server 110 may then verifythe client device 120 is located near the landmark in order for theplayers to participate in the virtual game event. The game server 110may store the landmarks for each potential location in the real worldcorresponding to locations in the virtual world in the game database115. In addition, the stored landmarks in the game database 115 mayinclude a name of the landmark, a model of the landmark, pictures of thelandmark from varying perspectives, 3D surrounding environment of thelandmark, etc. In order to verify the client device's 120 location, thegame server 110 accesses the game database 115 for a stored landmarkcorresponding to the client device's location where the client device isrequesting to retrieve content at that virtual location. The game server110 generates a verification pathway describing a series of movements toprompt the player to make whilst holding the client device 120. Theverification pathway effectively describes a series of movements of theclient device which may include instructions for any combination ofmovements of the player while the player holds the client device 120generally constant relative to the player and movements of the clientdevice 120 by the player while the player generally remains constantrelative to the landmark. The stored landmark and the verificationpathway make up the set of verification instructions. The set ofverification instructions are transmitted to the client device 120.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the client device 120 receives theset of verification instructions and verifies the client device 120location. The client device 120 prompts the player to capture image dataof a landmark 510 received from the verification instructions at aninitial position 520. The player captures image data of the landmark 510with the client device 120. From the initial position 520, the capturedimage data has a perspective of the landmark 510 that is parallel to theinitial perspective plane 525. Although the image data at the initialposition 520 may include objects in front of or behind the initialperspective plane 525 (e.g. objects unobstructed within a viewingfrustum of the client device 120), the initial perspective plane 525 isperpendicular to a sightline from the initial position 520. In anexample, the landmark 510 is a statue of a person. From the initialposition 520, the initial perspective plane 525 encompasses a directfrontal view of the person. The client device 120 determines whether ornot the captured image data from the initial position 520 matches thelandmark 510 data from the set of verification instructions. In someembodiments, the client device 120 utilizes image recognition techniques(e.g., machine learning pattern recognition algorithms) for determiningwhether the captured image data from the initial position 520 includesthe landmark 510. In some embodiments, the client device 120 uses atrained image recognition model from the game server 110.

If the client device 120 confirms the captured image data is of thelandmark 510, the client device 120 prompts the player to move accordingto a verification pathway 515 in the verification instructions. Theplayer, in response, moves accordingly along the verification pathway515. In the illustration of FIG. 5, the verification pathway 515 mayinclude a first step of moving forward five meters towards the landmark510, then another step of making a left turn and moving another tenmeters, then a final step of making a right turn and moving another twometers. In other examples, the verification pathway 515 may be promptedwith other units of measurement, e.g., feet, yards, etc., or the usermay just be prompted with an on-screen indication of direction (e.g., anarrow) and then provided with another indication when the user has movedthe required distance (e.g., the arrow disappearing, a stop sign, etc.).If the player's movement path matches that of the verification pathway515, the verification instructions anticipate the player arriving at anexpected position 530. The client device 120 also prompts the player tocapture image data of the landmark 510 during and/or after movementalong the verification pathway 515.

If the client device 120 captures image data of the landmark 510 at theexpected position 530, the captured image data would be parallel to anexpected perspective plane 535. Similar to the initial perspectiveplane, the expected perspective plane 535 is perpendicular to asightline from the expected position 530. Notably, the expectedperspective plane 535 after movement along the verification pathway 515is not parallel to the initial perspective plane 525. Following theexample with the statue, the expected perspective plane 535 encompassesan offset side view of the statue. The client device 120 uses the newlycaptured image data of the landmark 510 to corroborate the initial setof image data. The client device 120 confirms that the newly capturedimage data also is of the landmark 510. The client device 120 furtherdetermines whether the newly captured image data has a differentperspective of the initial set of image data based on the verificationinstructions. For example, the client device 120 determines that thenewly captured image data of the landmark 510 at the expected position530 is an offset side view of statue which differs from the initiallycaptured image data of the landmark 510 being a direct frontal view ofthe statue. In some embodiments, the newly captured image data duringand/or after movement along the verification pathway 515 includes videoof the landmark 510. The client device 120 may determine whether framesof the video match to the landmark 510 and that the frames are atvarying perspectives from the initial perspective plane 525. In someembodiments, if the client device 120 confirms the initial and newlycaptured image data match the landmark 510, then the client device 120verifies the client device 120 location.

In additional embodiments, the client device 120 uses movement sensors128 to also confirm client device 120 movement along the verificationpathway 515 prior to confirmation verification of the client device 120location. The movement sensors 128 may detect and record translationalmovement corresponding to a player moving along the verification pathway515. In some embodiments, the client device 120 measures thetranslational movement by the player with the client device 120. Theclient device 120 may determine whether the translation movementmeasured is within a reasonable threshold of movement that may generallycorrespond to the player moving along the verification pathway 515. Forinstance, the client device 120 may have a threshold angular error formaking a turn by the player. Such that given a player is prompted tomake a left turn by the client device 120 according to the verificationpathway 515 with a threshold angular error of 15 degrees, if themovement sensors 128 determine the player to have made a right turn(i.e. 180 degrees of error for the left turn), then the client device120 determines that the turn made by the player is above the thresholdangular error for making the left turn (i.e. 180 degrees of error isabove the threshold of 15 degrees). In another instance, the clientdevice 120 may have a threshold distance error for paces made by theplayer. Such that given the player is prompted to take five meters inone direction, if the movement sensors 128 detect translational movementof 100 meters which is significantly different than the prompted fivemeters, then the client device 120 would also determine the playermovement to not match the verification pathway 515. If the movementsensors 128 detect movement error corresponding to movement above thethresholds of error, then the client device 120 may reject the clientdevice 120 location. If the movement sensors 128 detect movement withinthe thresholds for error, then the client device 120 may verify theclient device 120 location in addition to checking the image data of thelandmark 510.

FIG. 6 depicts a client-server flow diagram of a method 600 forverifying a client device's 120 location, according to one embodiment.The method 600 can be implemented using any suitable computing system,such as the client-server arrangement of the system 100 of FIG. 1. Inaddition, although FIG. 6 depicts steps performed in a particular orderor by a particular device for purposes of illustration and discussion,the methods discussed herein are not limited to any particular order orarrangement. One skilled in the art, using the disclosures providedherein, will appreciate that various steps of the methods disclosedherein can be omitted, rearranged, combined, and/or adapted in variousways without deviating from the scope of the present disclosure. Themethods may also include different or additional steps.

The client device 120 at 602 of the method 600 receives locationinformation from a positioning module (e.g., the positioning module124). In some embodiments, the position module may include one or morepositioning systems such as a satellite navigation positioning system(e.g. a GPS system, a Galileo positioning system, the Global Navigationsatellite system (GLONASS), the BeiDou Satellite Navigation andPositioning system), an inertial navigation system, and/or a deadreckoning system, based on IP address, by using triangulation and/orproximity to cellular towers or Wi-Fi hotspots. The location informationof the client device 120 location may comprise a set of globalpositioning coordinates of the client device 120.

The client device 120 at 604 of the method 600 transmits the locationinformation to the game server 110. The game server 120 at 606 receivesthe client device 120 location information. As the game server 120receives the location information, the game server 120 needs to verifythe location information accurately corresponds to the physical locationof the client device 120. In some embodiments, the location informationis received in tandem with a request for game content specific to theclient device's 120 location shared in the location information.

The game server 110 at 608 of the method 600 retrieves a landmark nearbythe client device's 120 location based on the location information andcorresponding verification instructions. The game server 110 accesses adatabase (e.g., the game database 115) with stored landmarks. The gameserver 110 may determine which landmark to use for verification of theclient device's 120 location based on a proximity of the client device's120 location compared to locations of all stored landmarks. The gameserver 110 may choose the closest landmark to the client device's 120location. In other embodiments, the client device 120 is attempting toparticipate in a game event at a particular location in the real world.The game server 110 may refer to a landmark that is tied to the gameevent, utilizing that landmark in verifying locations of all clientdevices attempting to participate in the game event. In some otherembodiments, the game server 110 may be providing access-controlled gamecontent to players that are interacting with real world commercialactivity. In these instances, the game server 110 may also refer to alandmark that is tied to the real world commercial activity. In someembodiments, when retrieving the landmark from the database, the gameserver 110 also may retrieve any combination of images or models of thelandmark for use in verifying the presence of the client device's 120location.

The game server 110 at step 608 also gathers verification instructions.In some embodiments, the game server 110 may retrieve pre-generatedverification instructions from the database associated with the selectedlandmark; whereas, in other embodiments, the game server 110 generates aset of verification instructions with one or more verificationinstructions generated randomly. The verification instructions include aset of prompts including a prompt for the player to capture image dataof the selected landmark from an initial position of the client device120. The image data may comprise either a picture of the landmark or avideo of the landmark. The verification instructions include a landmarkrecognition model which can verify that image data captured by theclient device 120 positively matches the landmark.

The landmark recognition model may include a two-dimensional (2D) modelof the landmark, a 3D model of the landmark, or a combination thereof.In one embodiment using a 2D model, the landmark recognition modelincludes points of features on the landmark in addition to relativedistances between pairs of points. When verifying image data as images,the landmark recognition model may calculate relative distances betweenidentified points on the landmark and compare the calculated relativedistances to those known in the landmark recognition model. If, forexample, the relative height to the width of the landmark does not matchthe relative height to the width included in the landmark recognitionmodel, then the landmark recognition model may determine the image datato not match the appropriate landmark. In another embodiment using a 2Dmodel, the landmark recognition model may be a machine learning modeltrained with training image data of the landmark, the machine learningmodel able to verify the captured image data matches that of thetraining image data of the landmark. In some embodiments using a 3Dmodel, the landmark recognition model includes a partial or a complete3D virtual representation of the landmark. In the 3D virtualrepresentation, approximate dimensions of the landmark are knownincluding approximate distances between features, approximate angles,etc.

The verification instructions include a verification pathway whichcomprises a set of prompts for the player to move accordingly to theverification pathway with the client device 120. In some embodiments,the verification instructions may be pre-generated by the game server110. In other embodiments, the game server 110 generates a randomverification pathway for each instance of verifying locations of clientdevices or a verification pathway may be selected randomly from a set ofpredetermined pathways. The verification pathway may include multipleprompts for movement by the player with the client device 120. Forexample, the verification pathway may include a combination of turnswith a distance to travel after each turn (which can be labeled in unitsof measurement such as meters, yards, feet, centimeters, etc.). In someembodiments, the game server 110 also provides an expected perspectiveof the landmark after movement by the client device 120 according to theverification pathway in the verification instructions for verifyingmovement of the player and client device 120. The game server 110 maydetermine the expected perspective of the landmark by predictingperspectives of the landmark using a 3D model of the landmark whilemoving along the verification pathway. The verification instructionsalso include a prompt for the player to capture image data with theclient device 120 for any combination of during and after movement alongthe verification pathway. In example A, the verification instructionsinclude prompts to: (1) capture a picture of the landmark, (2) moveforward towards the landmark four meters while capturing video of thelandmark, (3) turn left and move forward two meters while capturingvideo of the landmark, and (4) capture another picture of the landmark.

The game server 110 at step 608 may also generate prompts for the playerto provide other inputs during and/or after moving along theverification pathway. The other inputs may be received through othersensors or components on the client device 120. In one instance, theverification instructions include an instruction to prompt the player tospeak which can be verified by an audio microphone on the client device120. In this instance, the game server 110 may also include verificationinstructions to match the acoustic signals from the audio microphone tothe prompted speech. In another instance, the verification instructionsinclude an instruction to prompt the player to touch a button on theclient device 120. These other instructions may be interspersed withinthe instructions prompting the player to move along the verificationpathway. In example B, the verification instructions include prompts to:(1) capture a picture of the landmark, (2) move forward towards thelandmark ten meters while capturing video of the landmark, (3) state thelandmark's name, (4) turn right and move forward three meters whilecapturing video of the landmark, and (5) capture another picture of thelandmark. In example C, the verification instructions include promptsto: (1) capture a picture of the landmark, (2) turn left and moveforward two meters, (3) press a button on the client device 120, (4)turn right and move forward ten meters, and (4) capture another pictureof the landmark.

The game server 110 at step 610 of the method 600 transmits the landmarkand the verification instructions to the client device 120. The methodscontinues at step 612 with the client device 120 receiving the landmarkand verification instructions. The client device 120 then proceeds toverify the client device's location according to the received landmarkand verification instructions.

The client device 120 at step 614 of the method 600 prompts the playerto capture initial image data of the landmark based on the verificationinstructions. The verification instructions comprises a first step ofprompting the player to capture initial image data of the landmark whichmay comprise a video or picture of the landmark. The client device 120based on the verification instructions prompts the player to captureimage data of the landmark via the electronic display on the clientdevice 120.

The client device 120 at step 616 of the method 600 receives the initialimage data of the landmark. In some embodiments, the client device 120may receive any combination of photos and video of the landmark.

The client device 120 at step 618 of the method 600 verifies the initialimage data of the landmark with the verification instructions. Thereceived verification instructions may include a landmark recognitionmodel for positively identifying pictures to be of the landmark. Inembodiments where the client device 120 receives video of the landmark,the client device 120 may compare one or more frames of the video withthe landmark recognition model to positively identify the landmark inthe video. In some embodiments, the landmark recognition model comprisesa trained machine learning model that may positively identify thelandmark in the picture or video received by the client device 120. Insome additional embodiments, the client device 120 provides the gameserver 110 with captured image data for further refinement of thelandmark recognition model, e.g., using the image data to build up oneor more of the 2D model of the landmark and the 3D model of thelandmark.

The client device 120 at step 620 of the method 600 prompts the playerto move client device along the verification pathway while capturingimage data of the landmark according to the verification instructions.In some embodiments, the verification instructions include a set ofprompts for movement by the player whilst holding the client device 120,the set of prompted movements making up the verification pathway. Insome embodiments, the verification instructions may include furtherprompts for player input to the client device 120. The prompts may bepresented by the client device 120 through any combination of visuallyvia an electronic display and orally via an audio speaker. The clientdevice 120 also prompts the player to capture image data of the landmarkduring and/or after movement along the verification pathway. In oneexample, the client device 120 may prompt the player to capture imagedata of the landmark, such as a picture, at various instances throughoutthe verification pathway. In another example, the client device 120 mayprompt the player to capture a video of the landmark throughout movementalong the verification pathway. Following up with example A, the clientdevice 120 may provide prompts to the player to: (1) capture a pictureof the landmark, (2) move forward towards the landmark four meters whilecapturing video of the landmark, (3) turn left and move forward twometers while capturing video of the landmark, and (4) capture anotherpicture of the landmark. In some embodiments, the client device 120 mayprovide the prompts for the verification pathway all at once orprogressively. When doing so all at once, the client device 120 maydisplay all steps of the verification instructions on the electronicdisplay. In embodiments with other prompts and instructions, the clientdevice 120 may also provide the other prompts and instructions. Theseprompts and instructions may include providing other player inputs.

In some embodiments, the client device 120 may request a newverification pathway for verifying the client device's 120 location. Theplayer may provide this request to the client device 120 for any numberof reasons. In one instance, a portion of the verification pathway iscurrently obstructed in the real world. This issue may be overcome byrequesting a new verification pathway until one such verificationpathway obviates the need for the player to move through theobstructions. According to this request, the game server 110 maygenerate a new random verification pathway with additional verificationinstructions to be provided to the client device 120. Upon receipt ofthe new verification pathway and additional verification instructions,the client device 120 may proceed with verifying its location with thenew verification pathway and additional verification instructions.

Referring now to FIG. 7, game interface while in the method of FIG. 6.The client device 120 provides prompts of the verification instructions730 to a player on an electronic display 720 according to the method600. According to step 620, the client device 120 prompts the player tomove along a verification pathway while capturing image data of thelandmark based on the verification instructions 730. In this embodiment,the client device 120 provides the prompted verification instructions730 on the electronic display 720. According to this illustration, stepsof the verification pathway are prompted on a portion of the electronicdisplay 720 guiding the player to move along the verification pathwaywith the client device 120. The electronic display 720 may also displaya real-time view of the camera's perspective or captured image data ofthe landmark 740 including initially captured image data of the landmarkaccording to step 614 or step 620 of the method 600. The electronicdisplay 720 may also have crosshairs 750 that provide a guide for theplayer to capture the landmark within. In some cases, the client device120 may alert the player if the image data of the landmark 740 fallsoutside the portion of the image data defined by the crosshairs 750. Theclient device 120 can progressively provide steps of the verificationinstructions 730 according to further steps of the method 600.

Referring back to FIG. 6, the client device 120 at step 622 of themethod 600 receives image data of the landmark during and/or aftermoving along the verification pathway. The image data may be capturedvia one or more cameras part of the client device 120. The image datamay comprise any combination of videos or pictures depending on whattype image data is prompted for capture according to the verificationinstructions.

The client device 120 at step 624 of the method 600 verifies the imagedata of the landmark with the verification instructions. The clientdevice 120 determines that the image data of the landmark positivelymatches the landmark. In one embodiment, the client device 120 verifiesthat a captured picture during or after movement along the verificationpathway positively matches the landmark (e.g., via the landmarkrecognition model). In another embodiment, the client device 120 selectsone or more frames of a video captured during and/or after movementalong the verification pathway and verifies that the one or more framespositively match the landmark (e.g., via the landmark recognitionmodel). After the client device 120 verifies that the captured imagedata matches the landmark, the client device 120 then verifies whetherthe captured image data during and/or after the movement along theverification pathway is from a different perspective compared to theinitial image data. In embodiments where the initial image data is aninitial picture of the landmark, the client device 120 determineswhether or not the newly captured image data (either a newly capturepicture or newly captured video) has perspectives different from aperspective of the initial picture. In some embodiments, the landmarkrecognition model also determines a perspective of the landmark for apositively identified picture of the landmark. In these embodiments, theclient device 120 may compare determined perspectives against theinitial perspective of the initial image data. After verifying that boththe newly captured image data positively matches the landmark and thatthe newly captured image data is of a different perspective from theinitial perspective, then the client device 120 confirms that the clientdevice 120 location is accurate and has been verified upon completion ofthe verification instructions.

In embodiments of the verification instructions prompting capturingvideo of the landmark, the client device 120 may verify multiple framesin the video at step 624 of the method 600. After each subsequentverification of the frame, the client device 120 may prompt 620 theplayer with another prompt included in the verification instructionswhile still capturing video of the landmark. The client device 120continually receives 622 frames of the video being captured by theclient device 120. The client device 120 may subsequently verify 624 theframes continually received. In one or more embodiments, the clientdevice 120 verifies 624 every nth (e.g., 2^(nd), 3^(rd), 4^(th), 5^(th),6^(th), 7^(th), 8^(th), 9^(th), 10^(th), etc.) frame of the video.

In an alternate embodiment, the client device 120 at optional step 626of the method 600 receives client movement data from movement sensors.In this alternate embodiment, before the client device 120 returns aconfirmation of the client device's 120 location being accurate andverified, the client device 120 also verifies whether the movement datamatches with the prompted verification pathway. In some embodiments, theclient device 120 movement data contains up movement data up to sixdegrees of freedom (i.e., three translational degrees of freedom andthree rotational degrees of freedom). The movement sensors on the clientdevice may be any combination of accelerometers, gyroscopes, otherinertial measurement units, etc.

At optional step 628 of the method 600, the client device 120 verifiesthat the movement data matches the verification pathway with theverification instructions. The movement data, as mentioned above, maycomprise movement data up to six degrees of freedom. In one simpleembodiment, the client device 120 verifies whether one or more degreesof freedom has movement (either translational or rotational) above athreshold amount. In another embodiment, the client device 120 verifiesthat the movement data correctly corresponds to prompted movement atstep 620. The client device 120 may use the movement data to estimate adistance travelled in a direction which can be compared against theverification pathway prompted at step 620. The client device 120 mayalso confirm that the movement data matches the verification pathwaygiven that the estimated distance travelled in response to each step ofthe verification pathway is within a threshold tolerance of error. Forexample, the client device 120 confirms that the movement data matchesthe verification pathway if the movement data results in an estimatewithin a few paces of the verification pathway. Following up withexample A, the client device 120 may verify that the movement datamatches the verification pathway if the movement data results in anestimate of moving forward towards the landmark roughly four meters inresponse to prompting of step (2) and turning approximately left andmoving forward roughly two meters in response to prompting of step (3).Once the client device 120 confirms the movement data matches theverification pathway, the client device 120 may then confirm that theclient device's 120 location is accurate and has been verified accordingto completion of the verification instructions.

In further embodiments where the verification instructions compriseprompts for additional player inputs, the client device 120 in optionalsteps of the method 600 verify that additional player inputs match thosethat are prompted by the client device 120 according to the verificationinstructions. In this alternate embodiment, the client device 120receives additional player inputs to the client device 120. Before theclient device 120 returns a confirmation of the client device's 120location being accurate and verified, the client device 120 alsoverifies whether the additional player inputs matches with the promptedverification instructions. The client device 120 may verify that theadditional player inputs match prompted verification instructions andthat the additional player inputs are timed according to the promptedverification instructions. Following up with example B, the clientdevice 120 may verify that a received acoustic signal matches to theplayer stating the landmark's name in response to step (3). The clientdevice 120 may further verify whether the acoustic signal of the playerstating the landmark's name is appropriately timed between step (2) andstep (4). Following up with example C, the client device 120 may,similar to example B, verify that a received player input of a button onthe client device 120 matches step (3) and is appropriately timedbetween step (2) and step (4). Upon verifying that the additional playerinputs positively match to prompted instructions, the client device 120may then confirm that the client device's 120 location is accurate andhas been verified according to completion of the verificationinstructions.

The method 600 may continue with the client device 120 preparing aconfirmation receipt verifying the client device's 120 location. In someembodiments, the client device 120 only sends a confirmation receiptpending all steps within the verification instructions altogether verifythe client device's 120 location. In other embodiments, the clientdevice 120 may send a confirmation receipt pending steps 618 and 624 areverified. The game server 110 may receive the confirmation receipt andproceed with providing the game content specific to the location of theclient device 120.

The method 600 aids in prevention of spoofing by spoofers. Spoofers, asdescribed above, aim to cheat the game server by attempting to retrievegame content tied to a specific location without being physical presentat that specific location. The method 600 proves difficult for spoofersto bypass. If the player is prompted simply to capture a picture of thelandmark in proximity to their supposed location, a spoofer could easilyfool the verification process by using a pre-captured image of thelandmark. The method 600 defends against such spoofers with providingadditional instructions of moving the player along a verificationpathway while capturing image data. Not only would a spoofer need toretrieve more comprehensive image data, but the method 600 could alsorandomize the verification pathway for each instance of verification.For example, the spoofer may attempt to fool the method 600 by searchingfor image data (pictures or video) of the landmark according to previousverification pathways; however, the method 600 may provide a newrandomized verification pathway which renders other image data accordingto other verification pathways useless. Additionally embodiments withthe additional instructions would greater increase the challenge for thespoofer to predict what kind of additional instructions may be promptedmaking the method 600 even more foolproof. The method 600 additionallybenefits for being minimally invasive to fair players playing theparallel reality game. For players actually present at a specificlocation when their client device is requesting game content tied to thespecific location, the players are prompted with a few shortinstructions that can be achieved quickly when actually present at thespecific location.

Additional Considerations

The foregoing description of the embodiments has been presented for thepurpose of illustration; it is not intended to be exhaustive or to limitthe patent rights to the precise forms disclosed. Persons skilled in therelevant art can appreciate that many modifications and variations arepossible in light of the above disclosure.

Some portions of this description describe the embodiments in terms ofalgorithms and symbolic representations of operations on information.These algorithmic descriptions and representations are commonly used bythose skilled in the data processing arts to convey the substance oftheir work effectively to others skilled in the art. These operations,while described functionally, computationally, or logically, areunderstood to be implemented by computer programs or equivalentelectrical circuits, microcode, or the like. Furthermore, it has alsoproven convenient at times, to refer to these arrangements of operationsas modules, without loss of generality. The described operations andtheir associated modules may be embodied in software, firmware,hardware, or any combinations thereof.

Any of the steps, operations, or processes described herein may beperformed or implemented with one or more hardware or software modules,alone or in combination with other devices. In one embodiment, asoftware module is implemented with a computer program productcomprising a computer-readable medium containing computer program code,which can be executed by a computer processor for performing any or allof the steps, operations, or processes described.

Embodiments may also relate to an apparatus for performing theoperations herein. This apparatus may be specially constructed for therequired purposes, and/or it may comprise a general-purpose computingdevice selectively activated or reconfigured by a computer programstored in the computer. Such a computer program may be stored in anon-transitory, tangible computer readable storage medium, or any typeof media suitable for storing electronic instructions, which may becoupled to a computer system bus. Furthermore, any computing systemsreferred to in the specification may include a single processor or maybe architectures employing multiple processor designs for increasedcomputing capability.

Embodiments may also relate to a product that is produced by a computingprocess described herein. Such a product may comprise informationresulting from a computing process, where the information is stored on anon-transitory, tangible computer readable storage medium and mayinclude any embodiment of a computer program product or other datacombination described herein.

Finally, the language used in the specification has been principallyselected for readability and instructional purposes, and it may not havebeen selected to delineate or circumscribe the patent rights. It istherefore intended that the scope of the patent rights be limited not bythis detailed description, but rather by any claims that issue on anapplication based hereon. Accordingly, the disclosure of the embodimentsis intended to be illustrative, but not limiting, of the scope of thepatent rights, which is set forth in the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A non-transitory computer-readable storage mediumstoring instructions for verifying a geographical position of a clientdevice that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor toperform operations comprising: receiving, by an online system, locationinformation describing a geographical position of the client device;identifying, using the location information, a real world object inproximity to the geographical position of the client device; generating,using the real world object, verification instructions for confirmingthe geographical position of the client device, the verificationinstructions describing an expected change in perspective for image datacollected along a verification pathway by the client device; andproviding the verification instructions to the client device to use forconfirming the geographical position of the client device.
 2. Thestorage medium of claim 1, wherein the verification instructions includeinstructions to collect image data comprising at least a first imagefrom a first perspective and a second image from a second perspectivethat is different from the first perspective.
 3. The storage medium ofclaim 1, wherein the expected change in perspective of the object isdetermined by applying an object recognition model to the verificationpathway, the object recognition model including a plurality of featuresdescribing the object.
 4. The storage medium of claim 1, the operationsfurther comprising: receiving, by the online system, a confirmationreceipt from the client device indicating that the geographical positionof the client device was verified using the verification instructions;responsive to the verification receipt, providing content for display tothe client device, the content associated with the geographical locationof the client device.
 5. The storage medium of claim 4, wherein theonline system is a game server hosting a parallel-reality game, whereinthe content comprises one or more virtual elements from theparallel-reality game specific to the geographical position of theclient device.
 6. The storage medium of claim 1, wherein the object is areal world landmark, and wherein generating the verificationinstructions further comprises: identifying, by the online system, thereal world landmark from a plurality of real world landmarks in alandmark database based on the geographical location of the clientdevice.
 7. The storage medium of claim 1, wherein generating theverification instructions further comprises: selecting, by the onlinesystem, pre-generated verification instructions associated with the realworld object.
 8. The storage medium of claim 1, wherein generating theverification instructions further comprises: responsive to receiving thelocation information, randomly generating one or more verificationinstructions.
 9. The storage medium of claim 1, wherein the verificationinstructions include a set of prompts for a user of the client device,the set of prompts including: one or more prompts instructing the userto collect the image data; and one or more prompts instructing the userto provide additional input to the client device during movement alongthe verification pathway, wherein the verification instructions includeinstructions to verify that additional input provided by the usermatches the prompted additional input.
 10. The storage medium of claim1, wherein the one or more prompts instructing the user provideadditional input include a prompt instructing the user to speak or aprompt instructing the user to touch a button on the client device. 11.The storage medium of claim 1, the operations further comprising:responsive to the real world object being obstructed from view at aportion of the verification pathway, receiving, by the online system, arequest from the client device for new verification instructions;responsive to the request, generating the new verification instructionsfor confirming the geographical position of the client device, the newverification instructions describing an expected change in perspectivefor image data collected along a new verification pathway; and providingthe new verification instructions to the client device.
 12. A methodcomprising: receiving, by an online system, location informationdescribing a geographical position of the client device; identifying,using the location information, a real world object in proximity to thegeographical position of the client device; generating, using the realworld object, verification instructions for confirming the geographicalposition of the client device, the verification instructions describingan expected change in perspective for image data collected along averification pathway by the client device; and providing theverification instructions to the client device to use for confirming thegeographical position of the client device.
 13. The method of claim 12,wherein the verification instructions include instructions to collectimage data comprising at least a first image from a first perspectiveand a second image from a second perspective that is different from thefirst perspective.
 14. The method of claim 12, wherein the expectedchange in perspective of the object is determined by applying an objectrecognition model to the verification pathway, the object recognitionmodel including a plurality of features describing the object.
 15. Themethod of claim 12, the operations further comprising: receiving, by theonline system, a confirmation receipt from the client device indicatingthat the geographical position of the client device was verified usingthe verification instructions; responsive to the verification receipt,providing content for display to the client device, the contentassociated with the geographical location of the client device.
 16. Themethod claim 15, wherein the online system is a game server hosting aparallel-reality game, wherein the content comprises one or more virtualelements from the parallel-reality game specific to the geographicalposition of the client device.
 17. The method of claim 12, wherein theobject is a real world landmark, and wherein generating the verificationinstructions further comprises: identifying, by the online system, thereal world landmark from a plurality of real world landmarks in alandmark database based on the geographical location of the clientdevice.
 18. The method of claim 12, wherein generating the verificationinstructions further comprises: selecting, by the online system,pre-generated verification instructions associated with the real worldobject.
 19. The method of claim 12, wherein generating the verificationinstructions further comprises: responsive to receiving the locationinformation, randomly generating one or more verification instructions.20. The method of claim 12, wherein the verification instructionsinclude a set of prompts for a user of the client device, the set ofprompts including: one or more prompts instructing the user to collectthe image data; and one or more prompts instructing the user to provideadditional input to the client device during movement along theverification pathway, wherein the verification instructions includeinstructions to verify that additional input provided by the usermatches the prompted additional input.